Mitel CEO calls it a day

Mitel CEO Don Smith has announced his retirement from the company after a nine-year tenure.

Smith joined the firm in the spring of 2001, and led the UC software through both its controversial 2007 acquisition of Inter-Tel, and this year's IPO.

"We want to thank Don for his years of service to Mitel. Since his return to Mitel in 2001, Don has overseen the transition of the company from a legacy digital PBX company to one focused on IP communications, UCC, mobility and software," said chairman Terence Matthews.

"During his tenure the company has grown from approximately $350m in revenue in fiscal 2002 to $648m in revenue in fiscal 2010," he added.

"It has been a privilege to serve with a great team over the past several years," Smith said, adding that we will remain on board for a little while as Mitel embeds new leadership.

Smith's announcement came as Mitel lifted the lid on financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2011, which closed at the end of July.

The vendor's second set of quarterly numbers since its IPO showed a slight improvement on previous figures.

Although sales were roughly flat, up to $160m (£103.8m) on the first quarter of 2010, adjusted EBITDA rose 2.5% year-on-year to $20m and GAAP net income was $6.8m, up from $2m this time last year.

"Whilet proud of our achievements during the fiscal quarter, we nonetheless experienced softness in our target markets as the slower than expected economic recovery has continued to limit the SME market's access to credit," said CFO Steve Spooner.

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